BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $14.76 and traded as high as $17.20. BBVA Banco Frances shares last traded at $16.9190, with a volume of 499,849 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBAR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BBVA Banco Frances presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.14 and a 200-day moving average of $14.76. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $865.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $871.10 billion. BBVA Banco Frances had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 4.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.0357 per share. This is a positive change from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. BBVA Banco Frances’s payout ratio is 44.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBAR. Fourth Sail Capital LP raised its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 2,847,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,446,000 after buying an additional 177,799 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP boosted its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 2,668,038 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,978 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,021,521 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,274,000 after acquiring an additional 180,137 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,944,429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,178,000 after acquiring an additional 120,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd lifted its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 103.8% during the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 1,141,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,623,000 after purchasing an additional 581,305 shares during the last quarter.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina’s leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium‐sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina’s financial sector.